What is MagicJack anyway? It is a completely new VoIP service. It surpasses anything else I have seen in the entire field of VoIP.

Is that how it works. Now pay attention. Follow me closely. Make sure you don’t miss any of the steps. First, you take the matchbox-sized device and plug it into a free USB port on your desktop or laptop. Second, plug any ordinary phone into the other end. The software will be installed automatically. It will assign a new unique phone number to your device that will accompany you wherever you use it. Finally, when you’re done, pick up the handset and make a phone call as you normally would.
Should we go through it again in case you missed something? Simple as one-two-three, right?

Now, there is much more good news to come. Let’s talk about cost first. Hold on to your chair for this because it’s going to be a shock. Buying the MagicJack box is the first big setback. It will set you back all of $39.95. Then come the fees. There is no fee if you want to try it free for 30 days. There is no fee for the entire first year because it is included in the box price. By the way, you can choose between a silver or pink MagicJack box.

In the second year of service they will give you a big blow. Your credit card will be charged $19.95. That’s not too bad on a monthly basis when you compare it to Vonage and its $24.95 basic monthly charge. However, the $19.95 is not a monthly fee; It’s an annual fee! That’s how it is; It is an annual fee. You get unlimited local and long distance calling in the United States and Canada over the Internet for $19.95 a year. Do you think you can handle that?

Besides free unlimited local and long distance calls, does this little box offer any other features? your bet It’s like all the big telcos with features like redial, voicemail, 411, 911, caller ID, call forwarding, call waiting, conference calling, and directory assistance. The only difference is that all of these features are FREE with MagicJack. Incoming international calls are also free. Outgoing international calls are charged at $.02 per minute.

Another positive feature is that you don’t really need to plug a phone into the MagicJack to use it. If your computer has a microphone and speakers, that’s all you need. It’s even better with a headset. However, you must remember to select whether you are using a phone or a headset. Default is phone.
What about streaming quality? I’ve used it on my laptop with the built-in speakers and microphone; I’ve used it with a Bluetooth headset; I’ve used it with USB plug-in headsets and with a regular phone. In a nutshell, I found the quality to be excellent in all cases. It also works well with UMPC and the little OQO. I understand that it may already be available for MAC or will be soon.

Another great advantage of MagicJack is that it offers a free plugin that allows you to dial directly from Outlook with a nifty MagicJack toolbar. The only problem is that I could never get this feature to work on my laptop. I also couldn’t get MagicJack to work with Outlook’s native dialer. MagicJack creates your own scrollable directory as you add called and received numbers from which you can also make calls.

Are there any downsides to MagicJack? The answer is a definite yes. If your internet connection drops, you don’t have phone service. Another problem is that currently you can only operate a single line from a MagicJack. Therefore, you would not be able to run a phone line and a fax line with a separate number from the same device. However, the company hopes to eventually have a unit available that will drive two lines from the same box.

Now wouldn’t it be nice if MagicJack also catered to the handheld market with an online account that you could use as a VoIP service on your pocket friend? Maybe one day. However, I think you’ll agree that these are not serious or unexpected problems.

The only place you can purchase your MagicJack at this time is online at http://www.magicjack.com.

Before closing, let me quote an avid MagicJack fan who sent me a nice note about her experience with the program after I mentioned it in another column:

I am a loyal reader of your column and wanted to comment on the Magicjack you mentioned in your last column. We have been using it for several months now and I want to tell you what a wonderful product it is for international travelers. They just plug it into their computer wherever they are and plug the hotel phone into the end of the magicjack or use a headset and they can call back to the US as if they were calling from a US number. It has saved us hundreds of dollars, I’m sure. We have a daughter who loves to be in constant communication and she has a job that takes her all over the world for weeks. She has the best luck using headphones because not all phones work well with the magicjack. She so far she has worked in the following countries: Netherlands, Germany, Kenya, Rwanda, Jordan. It doesn’t work in the United Arab Emirates as they block VOIP. And a person needs to connect to high speed internet for it to work. We don’t use it as our home phone like many people try to do, but we really think they should market it as a solution for international travelers. We had tried so many programs that could be downloaded to phones etc. trying to lower the price and we had tried Skype but this product (Magicjack) allows the traveler to call a landline or cell phone at no cost. With Skype, the receiving party must also be on the computer.

I followed your advice and got the Mio gps. I had owned a Garmin 320C but passed it on to another daughter and upgraded it. I really like it, but the learning curve was a bit steeper than Garmin.

I just thought you might like some feedback from one of your readers.

Janet D.

So, to that enthusiastic endorsement, I add my own, and conclude this review with a very high recommendation that you consider getting a MagicJack, unless you’re a sucker. Let MagicJack be your bean stalk to the world.

Stay connected!